by eubie

Salaries after college graduation

WSJ: Ivy Leaguers’ Big Edge: Starting Pay. PayScale Inc. looked at starting salaries for various professions for graduates of Ivy League colleges and other colleges and then compared the salaries for graduates at their mid-career.

The results showed that starting salaries were higher from Ivy League colleges, but the rate of growth was the about the same.

The study also looked at how mid-career salaries compared with starting level salaries. Engineers as a group saw the lowest increase — 76%. Other careers, including liberal arts, tended do much better at their mid-point.

by eubie

Books read: “How Starbucks Saved My Life”

How Starbucks Saved My Life: A Son of Privilege Learns to Live Like Everyone Else by Michael Gates Gill tells of the former ad exec’s first year at Starbucks. He joined the company when he was 64 and found the work life changing, especially when compared to his previous career as an ad exec. He said the worked helped him re-establish relationships with his children. I enjoyed reading the book and wanting a cup of coffee. I wasn’t surprised to learn that it will soon be a movie with Tom Hanks. It was optioned as a movie before the books was finished, according to Cinematical. The reviews on Amazon also showed that some believe Gates’ story was too good to be believed.

by eubie

Coffee and our bodies

NY Times: Sorting Out Coffee’s Contradiction: In reviewing recent studies of coffee’s impact:

  • Not as much a diuretics in smaller quantities. Soft drinks might have more impact
  • Not as big an impact on hypertension as thought
  • Not as big a contributor to heart disease as thought
  • Studies suggest coffee drinkers may have less risk to Type 2 diabetes than non-drinkers
  • Caffein coffee drinkers show lower instances of Parkinson’s disease.
by eubie

W. Va. study finds teachers didn’t have enough in their 401(k)

From WSJ: When 401(k) Investing Goes Bad

Seventeen years ago, West Virginia school employees joined millions of workers nationwide in a shift from a pension plan that guaranteed a monthly check, to a retirement-savings plan that would make the teachers, bus drivers, custodians and other staff responsible for their own investment accounts.

Interesting facts from the article:
* The median 401(k) balance for people over 60 and above at the end of 2007 was $34,420, according to Hewitt Associates.
* For teachers in West Virginia the average balance in their defined-contributions plan was $41,478.
* Of the 1.767 employees over the age of 60, only 105 had balances of more than $100,000.
* The state of West Virginia and some private employers are considering returning to a defined-benefits (pension) plan.

by eubie

A good dog’s tale


Audiobook: A Good Dog : The Story of Orson, Who Changed My Life by Jon Katz. I read Katz back in his hotwired days and his mystery writing days. Now he lives on a farm — Bedlam Farm. It reminds of the life of E.B. White after he left New York and moved to Maine.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had a dog, but I don’t think it will always be that way.